Installation of the New York City AIDS Memorial Begins

Construction of the New York City AIDS Memorial is now underway at the recently named New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s  Triangle. We expect final completion by early November, in advance of a public dedication for World AIDS Day on December 1, 2016.

Steel columns for the monument’s 18-foot white canopy sculpture, fabricated in Argentina, are now being assembled onsite. Stone fabricators in Cold Spring, Minnesota are currently producing the Memorial’s granite pavers, engraved artwork by world-renowned visual artist Jenny Holzer. This work includes selections from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. The Memorial also includes a central granite water feature and benches and will serve as the gateway to the new park.

The Memorial will be the first significant public space dedicated to the AIDS epidemic in New York City. It is located at the site of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital, epicenter of the local epidemic, and also a block from the LGBT Community Center where ACT UP and other heroic advocacy organizations first began.

“After years of working with the community, local elected officials and other stakeholders to approve a design and raise funds for construction, we are extremely grateful to finally see onsite installation beginning.”  said Keith Fox, Chairman of the Memorial organization’s Board of Directors. “New York City has come so far in its fight against HIV and AIDS. We are proud to remember the 100,000+ New Yorkers who have died from AIDS and offer the community a place to remember, reflect and learn. Along with the neighboring Stonewall National Monument, this is a proud moment for LGBT historic preservation.”